The Ministry of Economic Development proposes to reform the system of state control in Russia

14th May 2014

Regulatory authorities – Federal Anti-Monopoly Service and Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications – will have to consider how checks conducted by them affect the companies

Regulatory authorities will have to consider how checks conducted by them affect the companies. Now their goal is to find the offenders, but the goal should be to minimize the potential threats. Reform concept of control and supervisory system in the country was developed by Russian Ministry of Economic Development, says RBC daily.

Draft concept of the law “On state and municipal control (supervision)” was developed in accordance with the instructions of the President and is currently sent to the concerned agencies to collect proposals, after that a public discussion will be organized.

The main goal declared in the document is to establsh “framework for organization and implementation” of supervision and control in Russia.

One of the main innovations of the document is planning of control proportionate to the risk of harm. “The frequency of inspections and (volume) involved resources should be proportionate to the level of risk”, - says the draft law, and the control should be aimed at reducing risk.

Direct costs for inspections from all budgets in 2012 amounted to 69 billion rubles, while the evidence shows that most of the checks (84%) did not reveal violations that pose a threat.

International experience suggests control over the business on the basis of risk management, notes the Ministry of Economic Development. It also allows cutting government spending. Such methods have been used successfully in Australia, Britain, Italy and other countries. In the past year, according to the document, the concept of risk and risk assessment was introduced in the relevant law of Kazakhstan. Some activities, says the Ministry, should be made free of all scheduled inspections.

Algorithms of inspections should be unified. The law brings all kinds of state control and supervision into a single closed list with a clear distinction between the federal, regional and municipal level. And the actions should become more preventive and less repressive.

The purpose of inspections according to the new concept should be to minimize the negative socially dangerous consequences. The system of supervisors’ performance assessment should become appropriate. Two different markers are offered: the efficiency and effectiveness of control.

Supervisors’ performance should be assessed by the authorized executive body, says the draft law.